13 August 2009

ATHENS, August 13, 2009 - Two bodies were recovered from the sea off the coast of the eastern Aegean island of Kos yesterday while another three people were pulled out alive in what appears to have been a botched attempt to smuggle illegal immigrants into Greece from Turkey.

Authorities were alerted after the crew of a yacht sailing through an area off Kos known as Aghios Fokas noticed the sunken wreckage of a speedboat. A coast guard patrol boat was dispatched and officers found three survivors (two men and one woman) in the sea.

The woman told the coast guard that there had been another three Afghans and a Turkish skipper on board the boat. Two bodies were discovered but a specialist diver was called in to check the shipwreck. He failed to find any more bodies. A helicopter search did not reveal any further survivors either.